Climate Change

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biodiversity value natural forests have been converted into rubber and oil palm plantations (Ahrends, 2015[13]; Austin, 2017[14]; IPBES, 2019[2]). In Latin America, the main agro-industrial sectors responsible for deforestation are livestock farming and soybean cultivation (IPBES, 2019[2]). Urbanisation may affect biodiversity due to encroachment on natural and semi-natural ecosystems thus leading to loss of biodiversity and unsustainable natural resources management (INTOSAI, 2013[15]). Importantly, the impacts on fauna may extend well beyond the area deforested because larger habitats and fauna migration patterns may be disturbed (OECD, 2019[16]).

The adoption of varieties with high yield potential allowed to increase food production per cultivated land. However, this trend is sometimes associated with a decline in the genetic diversity

of cultivated species. Since 1960 agriculture production has tripled with only modest increase in cultivated land (around 10-15%) (OECD, 2020[3]) and important gains in reducing poverty (OECD, 2011[4]) and malnourishment (TCI, 2020[5]). For instance, high-yielding rice and wheat have been used successfully to reduce malnourishment in India (TCI, 2020[5]). However, this came at the cost of biodiversity in cultivated culture as multiple local varieties have been abandoned in favour of high-yielding varieties. These modern varieties are genetically more homogeneous and adapted to the practices that tend to be geared towards higher per hectare productivity (e.g. use of irrigation, mineral fertilisers) (FAO, 2019[17]). Lower diversity of cultivated crops, crop wild relatives and domesticated breeds indicate that agroecosystems are less resilient to pests and pathogens (IPBES, 2019[2]).

Unsustainable agricultural practices can also lead to soil degradation and broader pollution, which

are drivers of biodiversity loss. Unsustainable agricultural practices (such as the cultivation of steep slopes or overcutting of vegetation) can impact soils (i) physically (e.g. soil erosion due to wind exposure, compaction due to tillage and heavy machinery), (ii) chemically (e.g. acidification due to excessive application of ammonium-based fertilisers, pesticide contamination in soils and GHG emissions from nutrient leaches); and (iii) biologically (e.g. loss of soil organic matter and fauna) (FAO, 2015[18]). It is estimated that the well-being of 3.2 billion people worldwide is negatively affected by land degradation (Montanarella, Brainich and Scholes, 2018[19]).

Climate Change

Deforestation and livestock farming are among the main drivers of climate change. Between 2007 and 2016, the contribution of land-use sectors (the AFOLU activities) to global net anthropogenic GHG emissions was an estimated 23% (IPCC, 2019[1]). Most climate-adverse land-use changes are the ones transitioning from a relatively low-emission land use (or even a carbon sink like healthy forests) to a higheremission land use like cattle farming or urban areas (IPCC, 2019[1]). Deforestation (caused by agricultural expansion or urbanisation) leads to the disappearance of valuable carbon sinks4 and carbon dioxide emissions (carbon stored in trees is released into the air) (IPCC, 2019[1]). It also eliminates the cooling effect from the biogenic volatile organic compounds emitted by healthy forests and thus adds to climate warming and disrupts local (and potentially regional/global) weather patterns (Scott et al., 2018[20]). In the agriculture sector, livestock production (mostly enteric fermentation) and rice padding have been the main drivers of direct sectoral emission accounting respectively for about 66% and 24% of agricultural emissions (IPCC, 2019[1]). Greenhouse gas emissions are correlated to the number of ruminants (methane) and the energy used in animal-feed production (OECD, 2019[21]).

Sustainable forestry, agriculture and urban practices have the potential to contribute to both

climate change adaptation and mitigation (Mbow et al., 2019[22]). An example is the incorporation of low

4 Sustainable forest management can maintain or enhance forest carbon stocks, and can maintain forest carbon sinks, including by transferring carbon to wood products.